The Effect of Coating Density on Functional Properties of SiNx Coated Implants

Ceramic coatings may be applied onto metallic components of joint replacements for improved wear and corrosion resistance as well as enhanced biocompatibility, especially for metal-sensitive patients. Silicon nitride (SiNx) coatings have recently been developed for this purpose. To achieve a high coating density, necessary to secure a long-term performance, is however challenging, especially for sputter deposited SiNx coatings, since these coatings are insulating. This study investigates the time-dependent performance of sputter-deposited SiNx based coatings for joint applications. SiNx coatings with a thickness in the range of 4.3–6.0 µm were deposited by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering onto flat discs as well as hip heads made of CoCrMo. SiNx compositional analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed N/Si ratios between 0.8 and 1.0. Immersion of the flat disks in fetal bovine serum solution over time as well as short-term wear tests against ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) discs showed that a high coating density is required to inhibit tribocorrosion. Coatings that performed best in terms of chemical stability were deposited using a higher target power and process heating.